Canadian authorities have announced that a new commerical whelk fishery will be opened in 2024 in the waters off Eastern Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
The decision to open the new fishery follows monitoring of an exploratory whelk fishery by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which determined it "would be both economically and biologically sustainable".
The current exploratory fishery supports around 55 jobs in the region, with Canadian authorities believing a full commercial whelk fishery would create even more economic benefits.
"This fishery is particularly important to my community in Québec, and I am pleased to see that it will now foster the Nova Scotia economy, while increasing the availability of our quality seafood in international markets," said Diane Lebouthillier, the recently-appointed Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announcing the initiative.
Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard described the new Nova Scotia fishery as "an exciting chapter for Northeastern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton", arguing that "The fishery will not only create jobs but also contribute to the prosperity of Nova Scotian communities while ensuring the long-term health of our marine resources."
Decisions on licensing, access allocation, fishing effort controls and other management measures will be made prior to opening of the fishery in Spring 2024.
The Common Northern or Waved whelk (Buccinum undatum) is an edible mollusc, or sea snail, that is particularly popular with Asian markets, to which most of Canada's existing production is exported.
Canada already has commercial whelk fisheries in the waters off Québec, and in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Québec fishery began in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence in the 1940s, with further expansion during the 1990s and early 2000s, reaching a total of 15 whelk fishing areas in Québec waters. Research by the Canadian government shows that the amount of live catch has declined since 2017. In 2021, although there were 229 whelk licence holders in Québec, only 59 of them were active in the fishery.
Meanwhile, the Newfoundland and Labrador commercial whelk fishery has been in operation since 1986, with a total allowable catch of 5,000 metric tonnes per year. The fishery reached its peak in 2011, landing approximately 5,800 tonnes and generating $CAD 7.5 million, but catch has since steadily dwindled and with it, the number of fishermen participating in the fishery. Although the fishery had 307 commercial whelk licences in 2019, only 6 fishermen actually landed whelks that year.
According to the Canadian government's Integrated Fisheries Management Plan, the waved whelk is particularly at risk from overfishing: "Because of its seemingly high 'catchability' (attraction to baited traps), low reproductive rate, and limited dispersal (both as larvae and adults), this species is thought to be susceptible to localized over-exploitation, and has been extirpated in some areas of its range," the documentation notes.